ADJECTIVE: 1. Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent. 2. Anatomy Situated within or belonging solely to the organ or body part on which it acts. Used of certain nerves and muscles.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English intrinsique, inner, from Old French intrinseque, from Late Latin intrinsecus, inward, from Latin, inwardly. See en in Appendix I.

OTHER FORMS: in·trinsi·cal·ly —ADVERB

We hear the phrase intrinsically safe quite a bit in my industry, referring to an electronic device that is designed to be safe for use in volatile environments.

Intrinsic just feels like the sound that the door of the car you cannot afford makes when it shuts.

I like latent for the same reason. It seems to just lie there waiting for that right moment.

Fail safe is a compound I'd like to like. In nuclear (noo.koo.luh) matters, it is manifest in carbon moderators that will slide under gravity into the reactor, like closing the vent on a fireplace, when things get a little hot.

We hear the phrase intrinsically safe quite a bit in my industry, referring to an electronic device that is designed to be safe for use in volatile environments.

I just like the word intrinsic.

Tim, I too, like this word, but what do you mean by «volatile environments» ? Saturday night at the local pub ? And just what branch are you in - I thought you were a musician and/or a musicologist ?...

Ah, Henri... You have identified only one of my great loves in life. Music, unfortunately, would be quite demanding of me in order to pay the bills. My day job is as a Technical Support Engineer for portable devices for my company.

In regards to the "volatile environments" comment, I was referring to locations where the atmosphere might be laced with explosive gases or the likes.

And, although there clearly is a market for such devices, the market isn't big enough for every portable device manufacturer to spend the engineering effort to ensure their device is "intrinsically safe" (not to mention the added insurance cost to the manufacturer). Customers ask anyway.